


One Meal At A Time

by coffeeincluded



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Ambiguous Relationships, Gen, I left it a bit ambiguous since technically Dedue can survive on all routes I think, NOT part of my daemon AU!, Opening hearts and minds through food, Post-Blue Lions Route (Fire Emblem: Three Houses), Sort of? - Freeform, What a shock!, mentions of derogatory language
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-04
Updated: 2020-01-04
Packaged: 2021-02-27 04:49:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 494
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22111366
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/coffeeincluded/pseuds/coffeeincluded
Summary: Ashe: If those people would just talk to you, I’m sure they’d change their minds. I’ll admit that when I first got here, I found you kind of intimidating. I didn’t know if it was OK to talk to you. I hesitated. But like I said before, I just wanted to get to know you. And now that I have, I’m not scared at all...You’re a great cook, and you learned at home. Why don’t you make more Duscur-style food?Dedue: As we have established, people hate Duscur. Food by itself may be harmless, but it is better not to sow seeds of discontent.Ashe: Ah. But the cuisine of Duscur is delicious! I’d really like to try more of it!From Ashe and Dedue's B-support.Maybe if other people tried the cuisine of Duscur, they'd see the shared humanity that Ashe did.
Relationships: Ashe Duran | Ashe Ubert & Dedue Molinaro
Comments: 13
Kudos: 29
Collections: Those Who Drabble in the Dark





	One Meal At A Time

**Author's Note:**

> Written for Felannie Discord Server's prompt: Platonic or ambiguous end path (200-500 words)
> 
> Surprise: This one is _not_ part of my AU! I hope you all enjoy it though!

Today’s special was roasted squash, stuffed with heavily spiced meat. If Dedue wasn’t careful, the spices would burn and ruin the dish. Dedue was always careful. The air was heavy with the aroma of Duscurian spices; Ashe could stay in the warmth of this kitchen forever.

Ashe had always dreamed of being a knight, a shining champion of valor and chivalry. But within the first week of official training he had heard some of the more grizzled veterans talk about the slaughter of Duscur as though it had been a _hunting party,_ and.

Well.

So Ashe left the knighthood behind and sought another path. He spoke with Caspar and Dedue for some time about the nature of justice, about when to punish wrongdoers and when to help restore what was broken or lost. Maybe he could still help defend and help people in his own way. So he and Dedue opened an inn and restaurant specializing in Duscurian cuisine. People initially came for the rumor and spectacle, in sheer disbelief that the upper echelons of what was formerly Faerghus would patronize a Duscurian restaurant. They returned for the food. Eventually, some would listen to Dedue’s stories of his family and home, or donate to the foundation he and Mercedes had founded to help the orphaned Duscurian children taken and “reeducated” by the Church reclaim the stolen culture that was rightfully theirs.

Angry shouts and scandalized murmurs filtered in from outside. Ashe sighed. “I’ve got it.” Dedue nodded; Ashe grabbed the cleaning supplies and headed outside. This still happened every week or so. He would deal with this; Dedue didn’t need to see whatever nonsense it was this time.

Ashe wasn’t naïve. This was only one restaurant; he and Dedue were only two men. They wouldn’t be able to reach everyone in the former Kingdom, and even if they did some minds just couldn’t be changed. But every year more people arrived at the restaurant, more people apologized, more people donated to the foundation, more people saw the inherent humanity present in others not like them. Even if he didn’t live to see the complete restoration of Duscur, or see everyone’s minds changed, it was a start.

He repeated that to himself as he scrubbed away the slurs someone had scribbled onto the side of the inn. He didn’t even read them anymore; they were all the same drivel someone had scraped from the rancid dregs of a particularly dull hindbrain and smeared against the wall.

But Ashe did notice the little words of encouragement and support that someone had written right next to those slurs.

Those he left up with a smile. Perhaps there would be more words of encouragement to come, and eventually no room left on the walls of the restaurant for anybody to post their hatred.

Ashe went back inside, back to the aroma of Dedue's cooking and the lively chatter of a packed dining room. 

Yeah. It was a start.

**Author's Note:**

> _Though the innocence of the Duscur people was proven, prejudice against them still lingered in the Kingdom capital. For this reason, Ashe refused a knighthood when it was offered to him, and chose instead to open an inn that specialized in Duscur cuisine. Dedue began to frequent the place on breaks from his duty as the king's vassal, and over time, imparted to Ashe his culinary wisdom. As the inn gained popularity, the people of the Kingdom began finally to see the Duscur people in a positive light. This led to a reconciliation between the two cultures that came rather more quickly than expected._
> 
> _Ashe and Dedue's Paired Ending_


End file.
